Alison and Friends
by DaniellaPeirce
Summary: A story about Mercy and Adam's daughter, Alison, and Ben the resident sexest. But his wolf has chosen the little girl, and that's something Mercy isn't at all happy about.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own this, blah blah blah.. Disclaimer... something something something.._  
_Enjoy!_

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Ben remembered when they brought her home from the hospital for the first time. Her dark hair was short but thick and it covered her tiny head. She was asleep and in the baby holder that Mercy carried, even though Adam kept insisting that he do the work.

They had thought that she'd been only human, until the first time she changed -she'd been two, and she'd managed to get out of her cot and start eating the carpet Adam was so proud of- Ben had laughed so hard at the expression his alpha had pulled, and had eagerly picked up Alison when she bounded over to him in her tiny puppy form.

A few years passed and she grew quickly, often toddling towards him on baby legs, a huge smile on her face, giggling all the while.

Ben's wolf preened at the sound.

She bounded over to him now, in wolf form, and nipped at his nose; bringing him out of his train of thought.

Ali heard him grumble and focus on her again. Good, she didn't like it when he did that, it was like he wasn't there. Ali sniffed and curled up beside him and felt him shiver.

Strange, because he was a werewolf, and werewolves didn't feel the cold like humans did. She pressed her nose near the underside of his arm and he grumbled again. Ali thumped her tail against the snow covered ground and closed her eyes to sleep.

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	2. Chapter 2: Snow

_I don't own this, blah blah blah.. Disclaimer... something something something.._  
_Enjoy!_

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She woke up later to her mother calling. Ben moved next to her, and Ali lifted her head. Snow dusted their furs: white and red, white and steel grey.

Ali glanced up at the sky and found that it was still snowing, an icicle dropped on her nose and she sneezed. Ben's sides moved as he laughed at her silently, and Ali bared her teeth in mock threat.

"Alison?!" She heard her mom call out again, and got to her feet. Ali stretched out her lithe form, her claws extending and retracting like a cat's into the snow.

It felt weird between her toes, all cold and squishy. She heard her mom call for her again.

Ben got his feet too, and shook out his own fur.

Though she'd never admit it to anyone out loud, she liked the colour of his fur, and the smell of him. It made her feel safe, almost as much as a hug from her mother did, sometimes more.

He was bigger than her too, and it ticked her off. But she was still growing, something she made sure to tell him when the situation called for it, like when they would play-fight on boring days to pass time and she would win, or just to point out that she was up to his shoulder already and she was barely sixteen.

Ali nipped him playfully and then took off for the house, Ben on her heels.

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	3. Chapter 3

_Uh, hi guys._  
_So, I know this hasn't been updated in pretty much forever, but I've only recently gotten a muse for this particular fic._  
_I guess I'll try to update when I can!_

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Alison didn't quite know what to make of Leah Cornick. But she did know that she didn't like her. Not at all.

Her sister-wolf didn't like her either, but even she recognised Leah for what she was, if her name hadn't already.

_Alpha_.

The word was like a chant that ran through her body whenever she was near her father - and he was third in line for Marrok - but being near Leah and Bran Cornick was something else.

Ben seemed to feel it as well and stood back a few steps from where Adam and Mercy were speaking with the Marrok. Ali sent him a look, and he smirked back; the corners of his eyes crinkling. Alison didn't know how to back away from the conversation without appearing rude, but she needed the comfort that Ben brought when she was near him.

Adam turned - seeming to feel his daughter's discomfort - putting a warm hand on Ali's shoulder, and centring her attention on them.

_Alpha. Alpha. Alpha_.

Ali froze as she let the power of Marrok wash over her, and behind her - though he wasn't within touching distance - she felt Ben tense as well.

"So this is the famous Alison."

Ali looked the 'boy' over once. Bran looked for all the world a teenager the same age as Alison herself was, though he didn't dress in the same things guys her age did. Light brown hair was mussed and covered his eyes. His face looked so active, even though it was sporting a still smile now, as if it were made for smiles.

Alison nodded once, but didn't move to make her body language submissive. Leah watched, and anger bloomed on her sour face. "Aren't you going to acknowledge him as dominant?" She questioned, and Ali shrugged.

Ben found it amusing.

Leah did not. She growled, and Ali's sister-wolf took over for only a few seconds, but it was enough.

"Ali," Mercy started, but Alison moved out from under her father's calming touch and away from them within a millisecond.

"_Alison_!" Adam's tone changed to that of what the alpha wolf used, and Alison's wolf paused for a moment before Ben's arms were around her. Calming her where her father and his wolf could not.

Ben's hands smoothed back her dark hair, gentle even as she wriggled in his grip. "Shh," his shushed by her ear, sending shivers down her spine. And she stilled in his grasp, pushing her wolf back with all her might before everything when black.

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_D.P__**Reviews help loads, just so you know.**__ ;)_


	4. Chapter 4

_I love having muse for Mercy Thompson fanfics! :)_  
_But it also means that I'm neglecting my own stories, I just hope I don't get writers block for those like I did with these._  
_Enjoy! :D_

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She woke up to a form curled around her. Ben's body, if her senses were to be believed.

The warmth coming from his body was comforting, but it was starting to overheat her. Ali threw a leg out from under the covers of the bed she was in and opened her eyes, coming face to face with Ben's sleeping features.

_Mine_. Her sister whispered possessively. Alison smiled softly as she realised it was true both ways, he was hers and she was his.

_Yes, ours_. She answered.

Even if her mother preferred that Ben never touch her with a ten-foot pole. He had been stuck as a babysitter just once - because Darryl and his wife were at work and Warren as well - and Ali's wolf met his.

Met his and formed a bond that neither girl nor wolf understood, but knew it was right somehow.

Her wolf remembered it better than she did - Alison had only been eighteen months after all. But sister-wolf had claimed him even then, and when Adam had noticed, he'd raged. She remembered not seeing Ben for what felt like years to her baby mind after that, and because her wolf had claimed him, she was always prickly and easily upset for that length of time.

Then he'd come back, and she'd been so happy; latching onto his leg with a huge gap-toothed grin and she'd been his shadow ever since.

Ali was still staring unabashedly at him when his eyes opened - startling blue to warm brown. "You're awake," he stated, then yawned in spite of himself.  
Alison rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. Have been for a little while now, actually."

He placed a hand over her mouth, quieting her. "I don't need your smartarse comments, Ali-cat." She rolled her eyes to the ceiling in response.

Ben smiled - a warm, secret smile that Ali knew was for her and her alone - and brought his hand away from her mouth to play with her hair. Then, almost tentatively, he asked, "What happened, Ali?"

Alison closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling of Ben's hands in her hair, of him warm and solid next to her, and not the feeling her wolf had gotten when Leah had growled.  
_It was like she challenged_. Ali mused. _Like the Marrok's wife was a threat._

Alison shook her head. "If I say nothing, it's a lie."  
Ben pursed his lips. "So you don't want to tell me?" His tone was a hurt one, and sister-wolf sighed heavily.

_Tell him_.

"Sister, she…" Ali started, then licked her lips and collected her thoughts properly. "My wolf, she saw Leah Cornick as a threat for some reason. She acted as she normally does when she thinks I'm in danger."  
Ben brought a dark lock of her hair up to tickle her nose. "She took over?" He asked carefully. Alison's lips thinned and she pushed his hand away. "That's what she always does, Ben. She never hurts anyone who doesn't deserve it." She let out a breath. "But I don't think Bran will see it that way."

Ben's eyes widened. "You think he's going to destroy you? Are you mad?"

Alison frowned, confused now. "Well, yeah. I almost attac-"  
He pulled her close and she melted into the touch, pressing her face against his button-up tee-shirt with a sigh. "You are the only female born-werewolf on this planet. Do you realize how bloody important you are?"

Ali shook her head and buried herself closer to him, her wolf convinced that if she held him tight enough, they'd understand him better.

Ben let out a surprised laugh that rumbled under her cheek, and made her smile too. "Well," he said, and started to twirl her hair again. "You're very f-bloody significant. He won't hurt you."

They laid there in companionable silence for a few minutes before Ali murmured, "How long was I out?"

He paused for a second with twirling her hair, but other than that, there was no sign the question bothered him. "Half a day." He told her, and glanced over at the clock beside the hotel bed. "It's nearly three A.M."

Alison yawned, and stretched lazily. "Is it now?" Was all she managed through it.

He poked her in the ribs, earning a giggle and a sharp kick to his shin. As soon as she registered that she'd hurt him, Ali bit her lip. "Sorry!"

He grinned. "'Sokay." Ben told her, and brushed a stray lock away from her eyes behind her ear. "Just go back to sleep, Ali-cat."

And she did, curling up to him once more; her cheek to his chest and an arm draped over his waist, she felt a content feeling settle inside her as she drifted back to sleep.

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_D.P~ So, what do you think?_


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm liking this muse!_  
_And thank you to the guest, __Becca__ who did review the last chappie. Thank you very muchly. :)_  
_Enjoy!_

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The wolves of the pack stared at her, and it was putting her on edge. Leah looked at her as if she was some kind of insect that had best be squished quickly, and Ben was as overprotective as he got usually - when sister-wolf took over, Alison more often than not blacked out for a few hours. One time she had had dizzy spells for ages afterwards. (Ben was always there, right next to her when they happened).

She clung to Ben most of the morning, not leaving his shadow. It seemed to help him more. Ali wasn't having any head-spins, but he wasn't convinced - even though she'd told him, and werewolves can smell truths from lies. Mercy hadn't been pleased at the display of favouritism, having pushed her off to play with the other children. '_To get to know the Marrok's pack better.'_ she'd said, but Ali knew that they wanted nothing to do with her. She was a freak of nature, something that shouldn't exist.

Only Ben - even in Tri-Cities, other than her mother and father, a handful of pack members, like Warren, and older sister, Jesse - even tried to get close to her.

Alison didn't know why her mother seemed to hate her bond with Ben so much; he was always gentle with her. He'd never hurt her.

_He _never_ will_. Sister snuffed.

Ali had found him again anyway. The Marrok didn't know what to make of her - a daughter of a coyote and werewolf - and so steered clear of her when they could.

She would return the favour.

Alison slipped out of the hotel room quietly, who knew who her father had set as her guard?

The snapping of bones sounded nearby, and Ali went to investigate. Ben was there, munching on a rabbit he'd obviously caught. "Ben?"

The red wolf glanced up at her, and then his tongue lolled out in a wolfish grin. His clothes were bundled neatly by a tree, and Ali settled herself next to him - her knee brushing against his side.

"They don't like me," Ali told him in an matter-of-fact tone, her fingers burying themselves in his fur. Ben's ears went back, and he nosed her hand in a comforting gesture. Rabbit blood smudged over her fingers and Ali pulled a face. "Really, thank you for that."

Ben managed to look sheepish and licked his chops and muzzle. Then gave her a look as if to say, '_Are you happy now_?'. Ali grinned, and leaned down to press her face against the soft fur of his neck. "Are you my guard?" She asked, her voice muffled and Ben hummed.

"Well," she started, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Since_ you're_ my guard, I guess I don't have to wear this skin then, do I?"

Ben cocked his head to the side, leaning into her touch.

Alison rose to her feet and rucked her shirt up and pulled it over her head. Ben studiously turned his head away as she undressed.

_Change! Change_! Sister-wolf told her frantically. At the first snap of bone, Ali saw Ben wince, his ears going back against his skull once more.

She did not make a sound - she rarely did when she swapped skins - and she finished within three minutes. Ali curved her spine, her front paws splayed out in front of her; the universal invitation for play.

Ben moved, and she took off like a rocket between the trees.

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_D.P~_**_ Reviews are always nice, so if you would..._**


	6. Chapter 6: I Forgot How To Math

_Hey, I'm back people. _

_Also, BIG thank-you to absolutely everyone who reviewed! I love all of your input, okay?_  
_Keep it up, lovelies._

_My muse has recently revived and is now feeling as rejuvenated. As happy as a box full of six-week-old puppies, I swear._  
_I should also be able to update __**and so winter comes **__soonishly._

_But don't quote me on it._

_So, yeah... I quite like this chapter; hope you do to._

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A few months passed, and for each time Alison had to go to the pack meetings with her father, she concluded that Leah truly did hate her.

Though Ali supposed that maybe she wasn't actively trying to dissuade Leah from her loathing, and even asked her father if she could to come along the last time.

Ben hadn't been allowed, but Darryl and Warren had - and Warren was her other partner in crime when Ben wasn't around. And there was always plenty of stuff to find out.

Only Bran was the one who could put Alison in her place properly; she only listened to her father because he was _well_, her father; but if she wanted to, she could easily defy Adam. They'd long since figured out that she was dominant enough that she could even challenge Leah's judgement on most things, even when the shrew drew on Marrok's power.

That point was proved when Leah had told her to do something, and Alison simply _hadn't_. Leah had phrased her words into an order-Ali remembered that part very clearly- and Ali had felt the power slip past her like water, felt her wolf rise to the order, to put the lesser wolf in her place; until Bran had placed a calming hand on her upper arm, a tight look on his face.

Her wolf calmed almost immediately, and it startled Alison. Sister-wolf had never done that in their lifetime, but it was nice. In a way.

But mostly uncomfortable.

That was when she noticed a younger woman, who looked not much older than herself with whisky-coloured hair and eyes, a frown in her features.

Charles' wife, Anna. An Omega.

Ben had once told her that Omegas were almost as rare as wolves as dominant as Alison was, to which Ali had retorted that wolves as submissive as Ben were rare as well.

He had gone quiet after that and she didn't know how to bridge the massive gap she had just formed between them.

Anna and Charles just seemed to fit; they were mates after all, but seeing the difference between them - Ali just didn't understand _how_.

It hadn't come as a big surprise that Leah hated Anna almost as much as she did Alison - Leah hated anything that brought Bran or his sons joy, the sour shrew.  
Ali didn't mind though - the feeling was mutual.

What she did mind though, was the way Ben had been acting lately. Ali remembered, a few months back, when she asked him what a kiss felt like.

Ali found that she wanted to know what having a boyfriend felt like, but also knew that if her wolf got too involved; it would be permanent.

She guessed that that was the reason why her parents had never given her that freedom.

Ben had been almost shy around her the past few weeks, and Alison found it discerning. Since when was Ben _shy_?

He could be asshole sometimes - Warren said so himself, and in not too unclear terms - and frequently curbed his swearing when around Ali herself, but never shy or hesitant.

As she sat on her bed, doing homework her mother had handed her yesterday, Ali decided she would ask him.

Then decided against it not a second later. If he wanted to tell her why, he would. Ben was like that.

Besides, the vampire's mistress, Marsilia, had arranged for a meeting in a few days, and that by far was more important.

Mercy had been far from happy with the arrangement, and had demanded to go along. Something that amused her daughter to no end.

Ali didn't know what to make of the vampire seethe situated in the Tri-Cities, but knew that Stefan was nice enough. For a vampire.

But still - and even though Stefan was _her_ friend - Mercy would not allow him close to Ali. Ben was almost always by her side anyways, and he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

She found Stefan fascinating, after all, of the few vampires Alison had had the displeasure of meeting - Stefan was the kindest. Though the few she'd seen had been by complete accident, and she had lived a mostly sheltered life thanks to her over-protective father. Ali knew that the meeting between pack and seethe had something to do with all the pack meetings Bran had been calling the past year, despite her father's attempts to keep her in the dark.  
Alison was no mushroom.  
"So when are we going?" she asked Mary Jo who then checked her watch.

"About half an hour," the fire-fighter answered.

_Is Ben coming? _She wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so by chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Part of her wondered why she was always so intent on him, why-whenever he walked into the same room as her-her eyes would track his movements automatically. The word mate would be wrongly used in that context, after all, Ali was only sixteen, and no vows had ever been exchanged as far as she knew. No life-long attachments.

God knew her father would have killed Ben if there had.

Mercy shuffled into the room, an empty coffee cup in each hand, and placed them on the kitchen counter. Ben appeared in the doorway after her, and Ali was on her feet and in his arms within seconds.

"Ben!"

"Hey kiddo," he managed as her arms came about his neck in a death-grip hug. When Ali pulled back, her father was eyeing the two of them from where Ben had been standing a moment ago.

It was a silent warning, she knew; but what for she wasn't as sure.

"We're leaving now," Adam said in a dangerously low, controlled voice, and Ben's hand on her back fell away. He nodded and all but fled the room, leaving Alison stunned in his wake.

-x-

They didn't meet in Marsilia's _cave_, as Ali's mother liked to put it, but pretty much at her front door.

And Adam was hovering.

Though the pack seemed to like her more than they did Mercy, Mary-Jo didn't appear to share her alpha's enthusiasm. It was annoying Alison to no end, and more than once had she bit down the urge to growl at her father when he lingered at her side too long.

The red fur beneath her fingers was unexpectedly soft and silky as she carded her fingers through it.

Ben had come to them in wolf form ten minutes after he'd run off, casually hopped in the back and rested his head of her lap-as if he did that sort of thing all the time. Which, she supposed, he did.

They were waiting in the car for one of Marsilia's lackeys to meet them at the gates.

Her fingers tightened in his coat and Ben flicked his eyes up at her face, a question in them. "I'm fine," she murmured softly, her fingers searching for that soft spot just below his jaw. "I just thought I heard something."

Ben's ears immediately went back to catch what she was hearing, and he lifted his lip in a snarl as he leapt from the car seat.

Alison blinked and moved to follow, but Mary-Jo stopped her.

"Wait until your father calls for you," she paused and re-phrased the order. "Wait until the rest of the pack can protect you, okay?"

Alison nodded, as if she told the truth, and as soon as Mary-Jo left the car, Ali quickly slipped from the Volvo.

She nearly tripped over Ben's back half and fell into a crouch at his side as she saved herself from getting a face-full of dirt and gravel.

Ben gave her a look that said he was thoroughly unimpressed by her going against her father's orders.

Alison simply shrugged.

And then he was just there; appearing out of nowhere Stefan did, along with a few others and started talking to her father. "Ah, Adam. Nice to see you again."

Ben had stepped forward a little, pressed himself closer to her-protecting her with his form. Stefan turned his dark eyes on the red wolf, and then, slowly, on Alison herself.

"Ben has found a mate?"

Adam bristled and Ben paused, head going down then up again, tail between his legs as he waited for his alpha's reaction.

Ali cleared her throat, put a comforting hand on Ben's neck as she came to her feet. "I'm Alison Hauptman." She told the vampire, chin raised haughtily. "Daughter of Adam Hauptman and Mercedes Thompson _dee_ Hauptman."

Adam sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I thought I told you to stay in the car?"

Ali grinned sheepishly, then flicked her dark eyes down at the place between Ben's ears. "Coyotes make bad slaves." Was all she said.

Adam shook his head. "You aren't a coyote like your mother." It was a chastising and a warning in one; and Ali thought that if they'd been in wolf form he would have nipped her nose.

If he could've gotten past Ben, of course.

Alison was unruffled. "But I do have the will of one, don't I, father?"

Ben rumbled in agreement and leant against her more, his wolf finding peace in her touch. Stefan and the other vampires watched this with a quiet interest that sent the hairs on Ali's arms and neck standing to attention.

Alison quieted and Ben began to growl.

Stefan sent the red wolf a look. "Quiet yourself, my friend. The Mistress will be here soon, and I would not want to draw attention to myself if I were you."

Ben quieted only after Ali had put a hand on his muzzle; blue, blue eyes looking up at her indignantly. Alison laughed at that look-only a quiet little half-giggle-but it was still awkward in the silence of the night.

Her father stiffened and spun to fully face Stefan, and that made Ali press further into Ben.

She supposed that Marsilia was here.

-x-

Marsilia was breathtaking. And just a little bit off.

Ali hadn't really spoken with her, only flicking her eyes from the clean wooden floors once to supply her name and age before glancing hurriedly away. Alison was being as subservient as she ever got, shoulders drooped and head low as Adam talked it out with the vampire queen.

"Alison?" A mesmerising voice crooned.

Ali jerked her eyes up from Ben's back draped across her lap to her father in question. Only when Adam nodded, did Ali flick her chocolate eyes to the vampire.

Marsilia cocked her head in a way that only the old ones did; not quite human enough. Alison shivered.

And then blinked, because this very old vampire had just asked a question and she had been zoning again. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

Marsilia smiled in what Ali supposed, was meant to be a warm and inviting way. "I asked, little one, why your wolf seems to be opposed to leaving you side."

Adam's mouth pulled down at the sides and Ali shared a side-long glance with Ben and then shrugged a very teenagery shrug.

"He's warm," she said by way of answer. "And it's dark in here."

Warren smiled, but Adam did no such thing; he simply brought Marsilia's attention back on himself and continued talking with the very, very old vampire queen.

-x-

Benjamin was sprawled out on the foot of her bed; blonde hair astray and clothes rumpled.

Alison was doing homework that was due three days ago. She hadn't thought that her father would have let it drag out this long, and figured it was better safe than sorry; and so she was _actually_ doing what was asked of her.

If they just let her go to a normal school, then she'd have some idea of what the hell she was doing; because only God knew that the bloody tutor was hopeless.

Adam rarely left them alone now, which did nothing to help the situation; Ali had some inkling as to _why_, but figured that she really didn't want to know.

So the fact that Ben was very nearly asleep on the end of her bed and her father hadn't already come charging in all alpha-like left Ali off balance.  
Mercy wasn't much better, so Ali guessed that her parents had left to go out or something.

If Ali held her breath, she would be able to hear Warren and Kyle downstairs watching some horror movie. She'd hear Ben breathing in evenly and feel his heartbeat as strongly as her own.

"You're not doing your homework, Ali-cat. I'll get in trouble."

Alison's eyes flew open to see Ben smiling tiredly at her. Ali pulled a face and dropped her pencil back on her book, a finality to the movement.

"I forgot how to math, alright?" she gestured to her maths book and scrunched up her face. "You try and make sense of it."

A challenge, Alison learned from an early age, made by her could not be ignored. Ben had been one of the first to find out.

Ben rolled over and eyed her work before he made a face similar to how hers must have looked a few seconds ago. "Please," he drawled. "I am the best at not understanding high school maths." He rolled his eyes. "I'm better at it than Warren, even."  
Ali snorted, reached behind her, her fingers closing around the hardest pillow she had and threw said pillow fair at his face. "Yet you're the biggest nerd I know."

Ben brought his hands up to shield himself and let out a mock growl.

"Please do your homework?" he asked after she'd stopped with the onslaught.  
Alison shook her head defiantly. "Can't we play video games or something?" she requested.

Ben sighed, lifted his head up, grabbed the pillow and slid it behind his head before crashing out in a way-and of this Ali was sure-that only male werewolves could.

Or small puppies.

Alison growled out in annoyance. "If I don't know how to math," she said, and let her left foot dance across Ben's ribcage. "How am I supposed to finish the stupid homework?"

His hand caught her foot quick as a snake and Ali gave a surprised squeak. "How tired are you?" he asked before glancing again at the wretched homework. Alison shrugged before yawning widely.

"Dunno," she answered before rubbing at her eyes. "Why?"  
Ben laid his head back and laughed. "Because," he said. "I'm quite sure," a glint came into his eyes then, "and don't quote me on it."

He laughed a little again. "But I'm quite certain that thirty-three divided by three equals eleven."

Alison threw herself back into her mountain of pillows in frustration. The softness didn't do anything for her need to destroy her homework.

Ben laughed again.

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_D.P~_**_ You should review this, because it's the longest chapter so far. ;)_**  
**_I really don't have any other reason other than that. Oh, and I love you all!_**


	7. Chapter 7: Can't Be Love

_**Hiya!**_  
_**I'm updating twice in two days? What sorcery is this?**_

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She met the boy at a park after she'd run off after a fight with her father.

Ben was a work, because he did actually have a life-so there went that form of comfort-and being in the house would agitate both of them more, and having two highly dominant wolves in close proximity was simply calling for bloodshed. So Ali had fled the house in a flurry of jeans and dark hair.

He was cute though, the boy, and when Alison met him again, she found that he was funny, too.

Flirting was entirely new to her and when Ned did as such, Ali was thrown off.

She didn't know how to respond. But Alison learned quickly that the small brushes of his hand against her own and his constant smile were his way of saying that he liked her.

He had other friends too, (it seemed that everyone but Alison had friends) friends that he introduced to her as Addison and Hayden.

Addison preferred being called Addie and was as lively as Jesse was.

"Wanna come to the movies?" Addie asked, a grin on her round face. They didn't know what she was, they never asked and Ali never told, but they were fun to be around.

Ali grinned back and nodded. "Sure."

Friends outside of the pack were something that Ali had never had, and she knew that if her parents happened upon her secret, that they would end it.

Sixteen year old girls needed more friends than their parents' own.

Ali was lonely, even though she was rarely alone.

-x-

Retractable claws digging into the dirt, Ali stalked him.

He hadn't caught wind of her yet, and she was taking care to step as quietly as she could across the dead and decaying leaves.

But Ben paused in such a way that made Ali stop as well, grey eyes perked towards her prey; he knew she was there.

Alison sniffed in a disgruntled way and straightened out of her crouch. But she wasn't about to give up. _Good_. She bolted for him and pounced playfully at his legs, teeth snapping at the air by his ankles. Ben spun around and tapped her lightly as she ran past, a grin stretching his face.

"Afternoon, Ali-cat." He greeted with a laugh as she pranced back over to him. "How do you know where I bloody-well live?"  
Ali shrugged her shoulders and gestured to his apartment block. It looked like he was contemplating the thought of her in his house, like he was going to call her dad and tell him where she was.

Ali whined plaintively, ears flicking back as she gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. It worked. It always worked with Ben.

He dragged his hand over his face and made a ragged sound. "Fine."  
Alison grinned and jumped over to him, tailing wagging like crazy.

His apartment was a hell of a lot cleaner than her room ever was, and it smelled entirely of him. She wondered if that was how her room smelt to him.

If it gave him the same feeling of safeness as his did to her, it was no wonder he fell asleep so often.

Ali followed him into his kitchen, nosing around and sniffing everything as she went. Everything had a distinctly Benish smell, and it worried her that there wasn't even a hint of anyone else. Wolves weren't meant to live alone; maybe that was why he was always at her house.

Ben was sifting through his fridge when he began speaking, "Well, I've got pizza from about three days ago in here." He sniffed at it. "Not sure if it's still edible, but what the hell; might as well try."  
Alison bounded over to him to check out the food, and watched as he pulled out the pizza box and set it on the counter.

Ben lifted the lid and started eating a piece.

Alison rolled her eyes and began changing. Well, didn't Ben freak out?  
He fled the room-pizza forgotten-and Ali would've laughed if the feeling of needles in her skin post-change hadn't been so strong.

Ben returned with a blanket-the blanket that covered his bed if the scent was anything to go by-and draped it over her now naked form.

Alison snuggled into it.

Ben watched her, a strange look to his face and Ali stopped; a blush rising to her cheeks. "What?" she asked defensively. He blinked and shook his head.

"Nothing," he told her. Ali scrunched up her face at the lie, but otherwise didn't react. "I should probably call your dad."

Ali growled, toes curling into the carpet. "No!"  
Ben stilled and cocked his head. "Another fight?" he asked slowly.

She rolled her eyes. "No, everything is just sunshine and rainbows." She jerked her chin at the pizza. "Can I have some?"  
Ben's concerned look quickly turned into a scowl. "No need to be a smartarse, Alison."

Alison got to her feet, blanket still clutched to her, and started munching on Hawaiian pizza. "At least my arse is educated, Benjamin."

He backed down from the impending argument, didn't push to know what the argument between she and her father had been over, and went and sat on his couch before turning on his crappy little TV.

It bugged her a bit; how patient he was with her.

"Aren't you going to ask?" she questioned dumbly from where she stood.

Ben flicked his blue eyes over at her, weighed her words with a tilt of his blonde head before shaking it. "No." With that simple word, the tension between them dissipated as quickly as it had come. He eyed her again. "But what I will ask about is why didn't you bring clothes?"  
Ali rolled her eyes at him, it seemed to be a common thing whenever she interacted with him. She clutched the blanket closer. "I shifted before I got here, obviously."

Ben rolled his eyes back, a smile touching his face again. She liked his smile. "You didn't necessarily have to shift." He retorted.

She gave him a look. "When do I ever think that far ahead?"  
Ben shrugged. "You think that far ahead whenever you pull pranks on Adam and Mercy."  
Ali scoffed. "That's because if I didn't, they'd get me back ten times worse."

He gave her that one; she could tell by the way he tilted his head down, and how the smile had turned to a grin.

Warmth flooded her chest, and it scared her a little. Frowning, she asked, "Can I borrow some clothes?"

Ben looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded quickly in agreement anyway. "Of course."

When she came out wearing a pair of slacks and an overly big shirt, a realisation hit her like bricks.

She loved him.

Her wolf loved him.

The way he looked at her-when he wasn't being weird, like lately-would send flutters of warmth to the tips of her toes. It'd been like that since forever for her; that was why she didn't think it any different from lately.

But it was.

Because she was older. Because she understood what her wolf was doing, what her _hormones_ were doing.

But the entire notion was ridiculous because she was barely seventeen. Her mother would yell and scream at her; all the while Ali would be questioning her sanity.

It was Adam that Ali didn't like disappointing. It made her laugh to think that even her father ever came second to Ben; but he did. And he had been since Alison was eighteen months of age.

And that wasn't funny. Alison _loved_ her father.

Especially considering that Ben represented what she and her father had been arguing over these past few weeks. Alison could feel the distress to the others in the house when they threw heated words around.

Ben watching her brought her out of her thoughts, how one would fall asleep; slowly and then all at once.

Yes, she did just quote John Green.

Ali held up a finger, stilling him before he spoke. "Hang on a sec," she told him. "I'm having a revelation."

Ben let out a laugh.

Alison pursed her lips and scowled at him. "Quiet, or I won't tell you." It was only partly a lie; she would mostly likely tell him, even if he hadn't shut up.

Benjamin Shaw stilled under the little girl's glare, eyebrows raised as if to say, '_Well?'_

Ali was known for her stubborn nature, and her temper. She was usually able to get her point across so easily, but now her tongue was tied and she couldn't.

When she didn't tell him after a minute or two, she waved him away. Ben shrugged. "I called your dad," he checked the Batman watch he'd been wearing since she'd given it to him on his forty-second birthday.

That was nearly eight or nine years ago. "He said that he wanted you home soon."  
Ali quirked her head, her confession temporarily forgotten. "Huh, that's funny. I could've sworn he wanted me gone an hour or so ago."

Ben gave her a look. Ali looked away, towards the television, but still away. She could see him frowning out of the corner of her eye.

"I-" she stopped, the words caught in her throat. "I think…"

"You don't have to say it."  
Alison whipped her head to face him, heart racing in such a flurry. She thought that maybe he was still talking about Adam; but that train of thought derailed when she saw the look on his face. Like a man stuck in the desert with only poison left to drink.

Like a child being lead through isles at the shopping centre, "_Look, but you can't touch_".

"Huh?" she asked.

Ben smiled sadly. "Your revelation? I already know it."

Alison stuck her tongue out at him. "But the whole point of one is for the person to whom the revelation-thingy belongs, Benjamin Shaw. You don't know anything." That earned her a small laugh, and she gathered what was left of her courage, before it fled and slipped through her fingers. She took in a quick breath. "I think I'm in love with you." She let out, finally.

Sister-wolf practically sung at her declaration, not matter how half-arsed it was.

Ben tucked her under the chin before grabbing his car keys. "Yeah," he said in agreement, but his tone was rough. "I'm pretty sure I feel the same, Ali-cat."

-x-

The driveway at her house looked daunting.

Even with Ben at her side.

Particularly with Ben at her side, after the what the fight between her and Adam had been over, after all.

Warren eyed them with a knowing look from the front porch. Ali felt like hitting him; nothing had happened, who was he to judge?

Alison stuck her tongue at him and he ruffled her hair. "Boss-man's been lookn' for you, Ali." He cocked his head to the front door. "You really shouldn' run off like that. It worries him."

Ben nodded. "He called me," he said, like that explained everything.

Warren nodded too, so maybe it did.

She was so done with being a Were, because no matter how hard she tried to understand them; it just wouldn't compute. Or maybe it was just the male half of her species that she couldn't understand. The domineering arsehole that was in every single one of them. And for some reason-that stacked on her still simmering anger against her father-made her mad.

Throwing her hands up in the air, Ali stalked back into the house.

She thought that she heard Warren say, "Quick, go get her."  
Ben's voice rumbled back, "What?"  
"She's worse than Mercy in a foul mood."

And then Ben was beside her, a grin on his face. "This is going to be fun." He told her; cheer in his tone. Ali shoved him, but he easily caught her wrists with one hand and her chin with the other. "But I'm not leaving, okay?"

She could feel his heartbeat from where he pinned her hands, and the sound calmed her. Steadied her.

"Okay."

A cough broke them out of it. Ben dropped her hands like they burned and Ali took a quick step back from him. Mercedes stood in the hallway, arms crossed and dark eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ali moved in front of Ben, and only after did she realise that it wasn't one of the smartest things she could've done. "Afternoon, mom."

Mercy's glare, she quickly found, wasn't directed at her. "Alison Hauptman, go to your room. I'll tell you off later."

Sister Wolf was caught by the power in their mother's tone, and the threat that she promised. But Ali didn't heed a lick of it. "No."

She could feel Ben's eyes on her neck, the tension in his body behind her. Mercy was far from a happy camper. "_Excuse_ me?"

A very stupid smart-arse comment crossed her mind for a split second. She threw it away _very_ quickly. She glanced away from her mother to Adam, who had been watching quietly from the stairs.

He considered them for a moment, then sighed. "Benjamin, come here."

Alison's face twisted as Ben shuffled over to his alpha; even though he'd just promised that he wouldn't leave.

Adam locked eyes with Mercy, face twisted much like how Ali's own must have been. "It's gotten stronger."

Mercy shook her head. "No."  
Adam didn't really have to say anything; he just stared at his wife for a moment. Ali's mother was still shaking her head. "Then she can't stay here, Adam. Give her to Bran until it fades."

Ali went rigid. "I'm not leaving. You can't be serious."

Adam looked torn between what was best for her and what was best for the pack. She supposed that she was never really an option.

Ben hovered by her bed as she threw herself face-first into the mattress. It was a kindness that he was still allowed near her and wasn't sent packing back to his apartment.

Ali sat up with a huff. "I could run away."  
Ben chuckled at her. "They could track you with pack magic as well as technology, Ali-cat. You underestimate your father all the time."

Ali felt tears sting at her eyes. "They're sending me away, Ben. _Away_."

His mouth twisted, and she held out her arms. "I want a hug."  
A cautious look flickered over his face, but when she whined, he moved quickly enough. She was always demanding, so much so that she wanted to hit herself up the side of the head on some days; but he was always so ready to give into her.

His arms were warm when she pressed her cheek to one of them, strong and pliant. Ben was warmth, he was safe; and they were taking that away from her because of what?

_Because he isn't quite right still around women_. Sister Wolf supplied for her and Ali stilled. It was truth and hurt her more than anything.  
Ben treated her like a china doll, he'd never hurt her; she knew this. Ali knew that her parents knew it as well.

But they didn't like what _could_ happen, she supposed. She saw the fear in his eyes as she raised her head, nose bumping with his, saw his eyes widen as she pressed her lips to his.

If she was going to be sent to the Marrok, she might as well do something to earn it. Ben's arms tightened around her when she pressed closer to him, when he started kissing her back.

That was all it was; one simple kiss.

But it made it all the more harder to get in the car the next morning, made her raise her fingers to her lips as they left the Tri-Cities and trace where his had been pressed the night before.

And it hurt her heart to think that she may not see him again for a long, long time.

* * *

_D.P~__ I know that in America the legal age is like eighteen or something, and I know that Ali is __**just**__ seventeen in this. So yeah, I'm so sorry._

_But I'd very much love it if you would kindly review this for me. :)_


	8. Chapter 8: Couldn't Even Make It A Year

**_I'm updating like crazy with this thing! (I actually don't know how I am managing this.)_**

**_A very big thank you to Separate Entity, Vampswols4L, textbug3115, ForWhoCouldEverLoveABeast, nette0602, and all the Anons that reviewed; your thoughts are muchly appreciated. _**

**_But here, have this._**

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_Chapter 8 : Couldn't Even Make It A Year (Or Past 2k Word Count.)_

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It didn't take her long to figure out her standing in the Marrok.

She wasn't quite one of them, even after four months within their territory; (yes, she had been counting her days here) but she was accepted in rank with Charles.

Samuel hadn't visited the Marrok in years, and it didn't seem like he would any time soon.

Her parents had sent her there with a purpose in mind; one she had every intention of fighting. But one, it would seem, Bran Cornick had every intention of carrying out.

Ali knew that her wolf was too much for her pack to handle; Sister Wolf was more dominant than even her alpha. But it didn't lessen the hurt that hit her like a physical blow every time she thought about Ben. About the fact that her father had chosen Pack over her.

Her wolf had already staked her claim on him, and being away from him for so long made Alison agitated and her mood swings more violent.

So, when Bran or the ever-sour Leah weren't keeping an eye on her, Ali would run away in her wolf form. Up into the mountains to stretch her long legs and mourn.

That was exactly what she was doing presently.

Her bond with Ben was starting dissipate; she could see it with her mind's eye every time her eyes closed. Where it had once been a bright cord of silver, it was barely there; tattered and frayed.

_I miss you_. She sent through what little there was of the bond that could have been.

Of course he didn't answer. Life was never that easy.

The sound of padded footfalls brought her out of her thoughts. Ali turned and eyed the black she-wolf, ears flicking back as she recognised her. Anna.

Of course Bran would send Anna this time, in stead of coming himself or sending Charles. It wasn't a firm guiding hand she needed; it was peace and affection this time.

A keening sound came from her own throat, and she was helpless to stop it. Anna ducked her head, tail swishing against the air slowly; empathy shone out in her blue orbs. Ali sunk to the ground; her still overly-large paws tucked under herself, her head low.

In wolf form emotions were so much simpler, so much easier to analyse. But it did nothing to ease the pain that came with them. Anna gingerly padded over to her, cocked her head and snuffed behind Ali's ear before plopping beside her quietly.

Alison had been avoiding contact with others the entire time she'd been there, and the touch that Anna gave freely, it made Ali open up a little bit more.

Anna had been kind, even when Ali was sure that she didn't deserve anything more than a swift kick in the teeth; she been kind and genuinely cared about Alison's state of mind. Anna-along with Charles- always made sure that she ate, even when she wasn't hungry. She supposed that Depression had something to do with never really being hungry.

It usually pissed her off; the amount of patience that Charles' wife had. But now, as Ali curled into her dark fur, she realised just how much she needed that quiet patience and never-ending kindness.

That was how Bran found them; curled up in a ball of black and grey.

-x-

Ben didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

It was ridiculous. How much everything in his life had revolved around her. And, though his wolf couldn't speak, he knew that it wanted nothing more than to have the girl again.

What had happened in his shitty childhood aside, Ben found that he liked her touch. Much more than he should've.

Considering that not only had he had a hand in raising her, but that she wasn't even legal when he had made his claim on her.

The fact that she had been the one to say what was between them, that she had been the one to kiss him… it didn't really change the fact that she was sixteen at the time.

She was every inch her mother's daughter, if the stories told about Mercy and Samuel Cornick were to be believed.

Ben ran a hand over his face, weariness seeping into him. He'd been steering clear of Adam's house for quite a few weeks now; there was tension between Ben and his alpha, one that it seemed neither he nor Adam knew how to ease.

Having his Ali-cat between them had made it null and void, and with her gone it chaffed like rope-burn.

He had only spoken about Alison once, and that had been almost four weeks after she'd left.

Mercy held a pillow tight to her chest and Jesse was perched on the couch next to her. Adam's eldest had come home after Mercy had called her, and she had been furious at first; only calming down somewhat when Adam had told her that it wasn't a permanent thing.

But it would be permanent for whatever was between she and Ben.

Warren watched Ben curiously as he choked on his own words, Ben's blue eyes watching Mercy's face. He flicked them away, turning them instead, on the movie they had put on.

Ben kept his eyes on the screen as he spoke. "I love her, you know." It was rough and guttural, and profoundly _sad_.

Mercy's eyes were watering and no one seemed to know what to say to that.

Ben glanced over at her, letting out a shaky breath. "I didn't think I would ever be able to do that."

Jesse eyed him, her eyes watering the same as her step-mother's. "I miss her as well." She offered after a beat.

Ben sighed tiredly, eyes stinging and throat hurting. "She was sent away because of me," he said instead. "I never meant for it to happen, Mercy." His mouth pulled up at the sides without his consent in a wry smile. "But I'm not sorry for it."

Mercy nodded, face stuffed into the pillow as tears slipped out of her eyes and down her wrinkling cheeks.

Then he got up, in the middle of the night, and went back to his apartment.

So now he slept and ate and watched crappy television shows when he wasn't at work. He had nowhere else to be, no one who really needed him anywhere.

Except on full moons; that was the only time that he willingly interacted with the pack anymore.

Or with people, really.

And he knew that it wasn't healthy; the few times that he had picked up the phone, Adam had told him as such.

But Ben was lucky to remember to _eat_, let alone talk to people.

Letting them send her away and not running after that bloody car were what was best for her. No matter what his wolf told him. Because his wolf would have preferred to lock her away, to keep her safe and his; when he supposed, that he had no claim to her at all.

Ben wondered if Ali was taking care of herself, and hoped that she wasn't fairing as well as him.

Not for the first time in the year that passed without her, Ben thought on how ridiculous it was that people fell in love.

And on how much fucking worse being a werewolf made things.

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_D.P~_**_ I'm not sure that I like this chapter... but reviews are nice!_**


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